'Share a Coke and a Song' summer campaign

After doing some research on Coke for my instructional video, once I saw the new Coke bottles last week I had to write a blog about it. Everyone remembers Coke’s last campaign as the ‘Share a Coke with’ where names were printed onto bottles and cans. Now they have launched their new summer campaign and created a partnership with Spotify and Universal Music.

Cans and bottles were re-labelled with dates from 1938 to 2012 with a link to a specific song from the labelled year. Consumers can scan the barcode of their bottle or can with a QR code or simply visit the URL site listed on the bottle, which takes them to the page featured below. Consumers can then stream fifty of the most popular songs from each year, which have been selected from Universal Music’s artists back catalogue. Users are able to launch the ‘Share a Coke Spotify’ app, where they can share a song from the specified year that reminds them of a memory.

When I saw this on my 1980 Coke bottle I visited the URL (as I had no idea how to scan it). However, when I reached the site I immediately left as I thought it was all too hard. For me it was easier to jump on Spotify and search a song there.

I believe this is another great campaign launched by Coke as it allows customers to feel connected to the brand.

How many of you have noticed the new bottles or cans? Did you follow the steps to share a song?

Facebook Publishing Private Messages

There has been buzz around the Internet that popular social networking site Facebook has started to publish archived private messages from 2008-2010 onto users walls from a bug within the site. Some would argue that this is invasion of privacy and that Facebook should have programs to stop this from happening.

However, Facebook spokesperson Frederic Wolens stated that Facebook hadn’t been unable to confirm any issue related to a leakage of private messages, (www.guardian.co.uk).

When I head about this ‘leakage’ I went back to 2008-2010 on my timeline and could not see any private messages. However, there were old wall posts that I hadn’t read in years. This could have sparked the rumours about the ‘leakage’ as users do not check their timeline regularly they had forgotten what had been posted. Within this time frame there wasn’t the ability to comment on a wall post, it was called wall-to-wall, which looks similar to a conversation in a private message.

Users need to ensure they are careful about what they say on the Internet as once it is there everyone can see it and can never be deleted.

So, not to worry, it looks like Facebook hasn’t taken over your account and all private messages are still safe. If you want to be extra cautious, check your privacy settings to ensure only friends can see your posts.

TV Voting

After watching the X Factor last night it came to my attention that there should be other methods of voting, rather than the standard SMS voting that these singing contests tend to use. Through the use of SMS voting, the younger generation that do not use mobile phones or simply can’t afford to fork out the 55 cents, do not have their say in who stays or who goes.

This was seen last night on X Factor when boy band What About Tonight were voted off due to having the least amount of public votes. With one of the largest fan bases the show has even seen this came as a shock to the public. It was stated that their fans were not voting for them. This may be due to the young fan base they have targeted, with limited access to mobile phone voting.

To increase votes for contestants, Channel 7 could consider using social media sites for voting. This was seen on America’s Next Top Model, where all the model’s photos were posted on facebook and a social media factor was created where the audience had their say in who stayed at who went home. If channel 7 took upon this method they could target those who do not have a mobile phone. Another effective way is to vote through an app designed for iPad, iPhone and Androids where the user needs to download the app, create an account and then vote. 

Would social media voting be beneficial for Channel 7? What do you think? 

Success through Social Media

Social Media sites are becomingly increasing popular for the use of promoting an individual brand or helping to find ones success. YouTube is an example of this. YouTube has helped discover the likes of Justin Bieber and Australian Cody Simpson.

Social Times have stated that the 10 tips for being discovered on YouTube are:

1. Create lots of content: “The more content, the more related video clicks, the bigger  

the reach”

2. Optimize your Metadata: Includes Title, Description and Tags

3. Utilize your Social Networks: Twitter, Facebook, Digg and more

4. Take Advantage of Annotations: Can create notes and links within your videos

5. Ask your viewers to subscribe: When a user subscribes they are more likely to come back

6. Respond to Feedback: Viewers like to feel as though they are involved

7. Don’t underestimate the power of the Bulletin: Social bulletin feature which allows content creators to post links and communicate with subscribers

8. Create Playlists: Group your content by themes

9. Choose the best Thumbnail: Choose the option which is the most attention grabbing

10. Create captions and subtitles: Add captions to videos so people of other countries can understand

Have a look at each point in detail at: http://socialtimes.com/10-tips-for-maximizing-your-discoverability-on-youtube_b16458

However, according to Wiki Answers, to get discovered on YouTube takes skill. Justin Bieber had been trying to find success for years on YouTube when finally he caught the attention of Usher and Justin Timberlake who both wanted to ‘discover’ him. Through constantly uploading and sharing videos Justin found his success. 

For all those wanting to be discovered on YouTube check it out here, http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_get_discovered_on_YouTube

A new way to shop online

Are you sick of leaving your house to shop? Sick of waiting in long lines at the register to pay? Now you won’t have to.

Everyone loves to shop and in this day and age online shopping is becoming increasingly popular. Typical online shopping would be visiting each individual website and choosing particular items you wish to purchase. However, now there is a new way to shop online.

 Alex Danieli, a 15 year-old Sydney boy has created the unthinkable; a virtual 360° mall, which enables customers to virtually stroll through an animated shopping centre. According to retailbiz.com, “the 360° mall replicates a lifelike representation of a shopping centre; complete with an elevator, advertising and all the shop fit-outs, where users can ‘walk’ through a shop door”. The mall also allows users to see other virtual shoppers. Once users have been within the mall for a number of minutes a screen appears asking where you would like to go or what products you would like to purchase.

The virtual mall is set to have the price competitive stores on the lower level, mid market stores on the middle level and high end stores on the upper level where shoppers arrive in a lift with glass doors that open to their desired high end store.

I think this is a clever way to re-invent online shopping. Rather than visiting websites, the mall delivers the ultimate online shopping experience right where you are, whether you use it on your computer, iPad, iPhone or Android phone; it is all compatible.

After 2 years in the making the mall has over 90 stores within its visual portal, including SABA and Sportscraft. There are also plans to launch in Asia, Europe, UK and the United States. This virtual mall is expected to launch on October 1^st 2012 to be up and running for the Christmas period, where shoppers need to be up 24/7.

Could this be the answer to online shopping?  Would you shop at this online mall once released in October? 

Internet Scams

According to wiki, email spam is “a subset of electronic spam involving nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email. Clicking on links in spam email may send users to phishing web sites or sites that are hosting malware”.

Spyware is a type of ‘malware’ that scammers try and install on your computer. Once the program is installed, it allows people to spy on what you are doing on your computer, such as websites visited, files you use and the details that are stored on your computer. Key loggers secretly record what keys you press on your keyboard and sends this data back to the scammer over the internet. Scammers use these particular programs to steal passwords, most commonly internet banking passwords. Scammers have a range of tricks to get their spyware and key loggers installed onto your computer. Generally this involves users to click on links through spam emails or visiting a website that they have set up to primarily infect computers.

Scammers can obtain email addresses from mailing lists. They do so by requesting a mailing lists server to give themselves the lists of all mailing lists carried. They can also obtain email address from social networking sites, so it is important to keep as little information as possible stored on these websites.  

Last year we kept on receiving numerous phone calls around twice a week from a young man claiming he works for Microsoft, stating that according to my IP address there was something terribly wrong with my computer. It was simple to them, all I had to do was go into the settings on my computer and change something, giving them access to all my personal information stored on my computer. We kept ignoring the phone calls and joking around with them having a bit of fun and finally they stopped calling.

If you have fallen victim to scammers you can report it to scamwatch. Has anyone received any spam emails or telephone calls?

Advertising on Facebook

FACEBOOK…it is the most commonly used social media site in today’s society. It is used to keep in contact with friends and family, live chat and remain up to date with the most recent photos of your past weekend.  

NOW Facebook is becoming a medium for advertising for clothing brands, restaurants and nightclubs, all having their own specific page.  

Companies can use the Facebook Marketing Bible to help advertise their company, brand or product. 

Take Mimco for example:

This photo shows us that by recommending the Mimco Facebook page we can receive exclusive discounts as Facebook members.

Log into your MIMCO account to instantly receive 15% off, add items to your shopping cart and proceed to checkout entering the promo code ‘PLAY’ to receive 20% off BUT for an enticing 25% off, customers need to recommend the Mimco page on Facebook. 

Companies can now create a space on a social media site for free rather than spending the money on media. Some would argue it is unethical to use your customers to gain free advertising on their social networking sites. Through Facebook and other social media sites like Twitter and Google+ brands can now get free impressions through likes, sharing, email forwarding, blog links and so on. (http://articles.businessinsider.com)

However, companies need to be careful using social media sites. If a negative comment is published on their page they need to ensure they handle it accordingly as future customers will read these ‘customer reviews’ and determine whether they want to associate themselves with the brand. Similarly, other users can create pages posing as these companies.

Using social media sites is an easy, affordable way to promote and advertise an emerging brand that needs followers and awareness but should it be used for multi million dollar companies to promote themselves?

What do you think? With Facebook now charging users to ‘promote’ a post, will they soon charge companies for advertising their pages?

There’s a new kid on the block

Move over iTunes, there is a new kid on the block.

iTunes has been the most commonly used computer media player for years, used for playing, downloading and organising digital music and video files. Music from iTunes was then synced from the computer to devices such as the iPhone, iPod and iPad. Music and videos could be purchased from the iTunes store for an average price of $2.00 per song. However, there is now an easier way to access and download music.

I was recently introduced to Spotify. I had heard a little about it when a friend returned from Sweden with it on her iPhone and didn’t think much of it. Now I use it daily on both my computer and iPhone.

Spotify, founded by Swedish programmers is a cloud based online music source that allows users to pay a monthly fee and have access to a wide database of music. It is a friend-to-friend streamlining service this is user friendly and functional. Once logged in, it allows you to listen to your music wherever you are, as long as all playlists are synced with the device. Spotify also allows you to share your music playlist with your peers. A quick, easy way to connect to Spotify is through your Facebook account, which then allows your friends on facebook to see what music you’re listening to, (I usually turn the notifications off in case an embarrassing song comes on).

Warner Music Group says streaming services contributed 25 percent of the digital revenue that its “recorded music” group saw last quarter. That works out to be about $54 million, or about 8 percent of Warner’s total revenue for the period., http://allthingsd.com. It is also predicted that Spotify will reach $889 million in revenue since last year’s 2011 figures, www.adotas.com.

Spotify is taking over the music steaming industry, where will iTunes stand in the future.

What would you rather, pay a monthly fee of $11.99 for a premium Spotify account with unlimited access to music or pay per song on iTunes? 

To Swim or Not to Swim

The swimming teams of the London 2012 Olympics now have something else to add to their stress levels. If the stress of winning gold wasn't enough, athletes now need new swimsuits to compete. 

Just days before the opening ceremony, organisers have banned the use of whole body polyurethane swimsuits as athletes are breaking too many world records. The technologically designed swimsuit allows swimmers to be more buoyant, stronger and minimize the water resistance.

According to www.icis.com, 23 new world records were set at the 2008 Beijing Olympic games from swimmers who wore these swimsuits. It is uncertain to me whether this is from the ‘technologically advanced’ swimsuits or just solely the ability of the athlete.

Swimmers now need to resort back to the days of becoming hair free (which is said to have the same effect as the swimsuits). However there is an art to shaving and waxing. It may come as a surprise to most men but American swimmer Michael Phelps is becoming quite a natural, leaving only a little shaving scar visible to spectators. Good work I say.

However, I do believe that the ban on these swimsuits will determine the raw ability of the swimmers and that their talent is enough to prove themselves in this day and age. Swimmers can prove that they can break world records with or without these swimsuits.  

The question on the lips of swimming fanatics is whether these Polyurethane swimsuits should have been banned. Do you think the ban of the swimsuits will change the result of a race or potentially a world record, or is it all in the ability of the swimmer? 

Qantas - you're the reason we fly

After flying back from the USA a little over 2 weeks ago on a Qantas plane, I was convinced that Qantas was the official sponsor for the London 2012 Olympic games. The use of the Australian athletes in the safety videos led me to believe that Qantas was not only the major sponsor of the Australian team, but also they were the official partner of the Olympic games.

Qantas’s new ad campaign “you’re the reason we fly” has been unleashed just in time for the Olympic Games.

Qantas have ambushed the Olympic Games with this campaign and the ‘QF2012’ logos, making consumers think they are associated with the games, when in actual fact they are not the official sponsor of the event.

Ambush marketing is "a planned attempt by a third party to associate itself directly or indirectly with the Olympic Games to gain the recognition and benefits associated with being an Olympic partner", (http://www.taylorwessing.com/download/article_ambush.html)

The use of the athletes competing in sports associated with the Olympic games generates the questioning of the association and partnership that is portrayed. It creates a strong emotional appeal to viewers and sends a message that we need to support our athletes.

The new ad campaign is seen as ambush marketing, however it is a powerful way to get the Qantas brand recognised worldwide and reinforces that anything is possible.

I like the new advertising campaign and the way Qantas have associated themselves as the official sponsor of the Australian team. After watching that campaign and viewing the safety videos on the Qantas planes, I would believe that they are the major sponsor of the Olympic games.

What do you think of this campaign? After seeing the video would you assume they are the official sponsor of the Olympic Games?